Aspire to Excellence - Sing, Dance, Act
506-383-5951 x101
Chercher l'excellence : Chanter, danser, jouer
OUR STAFF
CEO - Susan Chalmers-Gauvin
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR – Igor Dobrovolskiy
It is essential for youth to begin their training with a qualified and professional group of educators. At the School of Atlantic Ballet, we strongly believe that the connection between youth development and the arts is best fostered through a direct relationship with professional artists and educators.
ADMINISTRATION
Christie Goodwin
Director, School of Atlantic Ballet
A professional musician and Arts Administrator, Christie joined the School of Atlantic Ballet team in September 2022. Originally from small-town Alberta, Christie holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Oboe Performance from the University of British Columbia, an Artist's Diploma in Orchestral Performance from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and most recently, a Master's Degree in Arts Management and Leadership from Queen's University (2023). Ms. Goodwin is the Oboe Professor at Mount Allison University, has taught Oboe at l'Université de Moncton, and is a founding member of the well-known woodwind quintet, Ventus Machina. A core member of Symphony New Brunswick for over a decade, Christie and her family have made their home in Dieppe since 2011.
DANCE DIVISION
Principal
Yuliia Shevchenko
Ballet/ Dance Division, Advanced ballet
Yuliia Shevchenko was born in Kiev, Ukraine. She began her dance training at the age of five and continued her ballet studies at the Kiev State Ballet Academy. After graduation, she joined the State Theatre of Opera and Ballet for Children and Youth in Kiev. Yullia worked throughout Europe as a professional ballet dancer. Her extensive contemporary, classical and character dance repertoire included: The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Harlequinade, Romeo and Juliet, Sacred Spring, Pushkin, Casanova, Carmina Burana, Carmen, Four Seasons, Giselle, and Rasputin, in which she had leading and solo roles. In 2002, after giving birth to her daughter Nikita, she joined the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada​. Following her extensive professional ballet career, Yuliia has dedicated her time to teaching and youth development. She has been a ballet teacher and choreographer at ballet schools and instructor and artistic consultant for rhythmic gymnastics groups in Europe and Canada. As well, she has offered ballet master classes, workshops and summer schools in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick. Over the last four years Yuliia also contributed her talents to District 2 high school production as a choreographer. She choreographed for the musicals Fame (2007), Footloose (2009), Beauty and The Beast (2009), Into the Woods (2009), Grease the Musical (2010) and The King and I (2011).
Instructors
Eldiyar Daniyarov
Intermediate Level 2, Contemporary & Character
Eldiyar joined Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada in 2012. Prior to coming to Canada he was dancing as a soloist with the prestigious Eifman Ballet of St Petersburg. He trained and graduated from the esteemed Kazakh National Academy of Arts and went on as a principal dancer with the National Academic Ballet of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Center of Contemporary Dance and the Crown of Russian Ballet Moscow. Eldiyar also has a degree in Teaching and Choreography from the National Academy of Art in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Olga Petiteau
Pre-Intermediate Ballet, Intermediate Level 1 & Acrobatics
Olga Petiteau trained at the Académie américaine de danse de Paris. In 2007, she was a finalist at the Youth America Grand Prix competition in New York. She joined Ballet Cymru in 2009, where she performed on national and international tours. She has also been involved in the creation and inception of many neoclassical and contemporary pieces. Olga danced with Vienna Festival Ballet for one season in 2012 and joined Les Ballets classiques de Paris for their international tour. In 2014, she brilliantly interpreted the role of Edith Piaf in Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada’s original production.
Stéphanie Audet
Pre-Ballet, Pre-Primary Ballet, Primary Ballet, Adult Ballet
Born in Montreal, Stéphanie began her training at l’École supérieure de Ballet du Québec. During her training, Stéphanie had the chance to perform the Balanchine repertory, as well as Swan Lake. She has also been involved in many contemporary new works. This is her second season dancing with Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada. In last year’s premiere of PIAF by Igor Dobrovolskiy, she danced the part of Simone “Mômone” Berteaut. Stéphanie has also performed in GHOSTS OF VIOLENCE and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA with the Company.
MUSICAL THEATRE DIVISION
Miguel Roy
Theatre Director
Miguel Roy is a theatre artist and performer from Oromocto, New Brunswick. Having built a strong foundation of knowledge and skills through St. Thomas University’s concentration in Drama program, he now works to impart fundamentals and tools to the next generation of artists. With a deep focus on generosity, movement, and character building, his classes aim to prepare students for what comes next, be it community, semi-professional, or professional theatre.
Over the last decade, Miguel has had the chance to work with creators from many different walks of life, including Lisa Anne Ross’s Solo Chicken Productions, Ryan Griffith’s Next Folding Theatre Co., Tania Breen’s Musical Theatre program with St. Thomas University, and Len Falkenstein’s NotaBle Acts Theatre Festival as well as Fredericton’s own Bard in the Barracks.
Since joining the Atlantic Ballet in 2021, he has helped create multiple projects, including Roald Dahl’s Matilda: The Musical in June 2022, and Madagascar: A Musical Adventure in June 2023.
Justin Guignard
Musical Direction
Having started voice lessons at the age of 9, Justin Guignard had already won his first Provincial Music Festival by the age of 12, and won a second time in 2012. He was named the Most Outstanding Junior Vocalist in 2006 by the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), and got to perform for the French Consul General that same year. From there, his vocal career led him to perform on national television, at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa under the direction of Pinchas Zukerman, and most recently at Carnegie Hall in New York City with John Rutter CBE.
As a composer, Guignard’s compositions have been performed in four different continents. Most known for his Orchestral and Concert Band/Wind Ensemble repertoire, Guignard also avidly composes vocal music. When he is not composing, Justin Guignard spends most of his time orchestrating music and creating arrangements for various different ensembles. He most recently composed the score for the musical “The Jungle Book” (Centre for Arts and Education).
Since February 2016 he is the Musical Director of the Codiac Concert Band. Justin also conducts the Bel Canto Singers of Fredericton, and the Harmonie de l’école Mathieu-Martin where he currently teaches.
ARTS AFTER SCHOOL
Irina Olkinitskaya
AAS Visual Arts Instructor
Irina was born in Chişinău, Moldova. When she was 20 years old Irina moved to Moscow, Russia where she met her future husband.
After several years of studies in the Moscow State Pedagogical College and then in the Moscow Humanitarian Pedagogical Institute she obtained a Master’s Degree in Pedagogy and Methodology of Early Childhood Education.
In 2012 Irina and her family moved to Canada, when her youngest child was 2 years old and her oldest was 10. From their first years in Moncton all four children were involved in different programs and performances at the School of Atlantic Ballet, and in 2018 Irina joined the School herself as an Arts and Crafts teacher.
Ghayda Al-Sharbati
AAS instructor
Ghayda Al-Sharbati is a teacher in sport education. She taught students and gave university lectures in Iraq for several years, then moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirate where she was involved in education. Ten years later, in 2013, she moved to Canada with her family. There she gained experience in After-school programs and had the opportunity to work with Canadian schools through the Anglophone East School district. She is now proud to be a staff member of the School of Atlantic Ballet, where she helps the program to keep going forward under any circumstances and provides only the best for her students.
Owen Switzer
AAS Music Instructor
Owen Switzer, born in Ajax, Ontario, is a saxophonist and clarinetist. After attending O’Neill CVI in Oshawa, ON, he decided to come to New Brunswick to persue his Bachelor of Music from Mount Allison University. He studied as a classical and jazz saxophonist.
Owen is a recent graduate, receiving his degree in 2021, however in his first year he joined the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment band in Saint John. Currently a reservist musician with the Canadian Armed Forces, Owen has performed with the Band of the Ceremonial Guard in Ottawa and the 5th Canadian Division Composite Band in Halifax. He has performed for multiple parliamentarians. Owen joined the school of Atlantic ballet in October 2022 and has taken over as the full time music teacher in the Arts After School program.
Maryna Ovchynnykova
AAS Instructor
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Viktoriia Popenko
AAS Instructor
Website Under Construction